The boosted and inactivated mechanism of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from pure water over CoP modified phosphorus doped MnxCd1-xS

High-efficiency photocatalytic H2-evolution in water/seawater over a novel noble metal free Ni3C/Mn0.5Cd0.5S Schottky junction

Solar-powered seawater production of clean hydrogen fuel is highly prospective. In this work, Ni3C/Mn0.5Cd0.5S (NCMCS) Schottky junctions with excellent visible-light correspondence and photogenerated carrier separation properties are constructed using electrostatic attraction. The material achieves a hydrogen evolution rate of 6472.9 μmol h-1 g-1 in simulated seawater, which is 11 times higher than that of a single Mn0.5Cd0.5S (MCS). More attractively, the composite exhibits excellent hydrogen evolution rates in natural river water, groundwater and tap water, with significantly enhanced practical applicability. The underlying hydrogen evolution mechanism was extrapolated from a combination of experimental and theoretical calculations. The present work provides a low-cost and efficient hydrogen evolution photocatalyst for practical application, which can help promote the efficient conversion of solar-hydrogen energy.

CoP decorated 2D/2D red phosphorus/B doped g-C3N4 type II heterojunction for boosted pure water splitting activity via the two-electron pathway

CoP decorated 2D/2D red phosphorus/B doped g-C3N4 heterojunction enabled photocatalytic pure water splitting to produce H2 with a two-electron process.

The highly improved hydrogen evolution performance of a 0D/0D MoP-modified P-doped Mn0.5Cd0.5S photocatalyst

In this paper, we present a MoP/P-Mn_0.5Cd_0.5S photocatalytic material (PMOMCS-Px). A novel catalyst can efficiently split water into hydrogen without precious metals. In the sacrificial agent environment, the HER (hydrogen evolution rate) of PMOMCS-P5 was 4368.25 μmol g^-1 h^-1 which was 11.4 times greater than the HER of Mn_0.5Cd_0.5S (383.19 μmol g^-1 h^-1), and its hydrogen production performance was better than that of Pt/Mn_0.5Cd_0.5S (2.0 wt% Pt). Furthermore, the hydrogen evolution performance of PMOMCS-P5 under pure water conditions was also examined, and the HER of PMOMCS-P5 was 209.76 μmol g^-1 h^-1, which was 20.4 times that of Mn_0.5Cd_0.5S (10.29 μmol g^-1 h^-1). Its characterization proved that the introduction of the co-catalyst MoP and P doping inhibited the recombination of e^- and h⁺, enhanced the reduction capacity, and reduced the hydrogen precipitation reaction overpotential of PMOMCS-Px, thus enhancing the hydrogen production performance of PMOMCS-Px. Therefore, an efficient and economical photocatalyst was prepared.

Flower-like Ag2WO4/CeO2 heterojunctions with oxygen vacancies and expedited charge carrier separation boost the photocatalytic degradation of dyes and drugs

Charge carrier separation is a very important factor in photocatalysis, and it may be achieved through a variety of paths including the construction of heterojunctions and the formation of surface defects. Herein, we demonstrate the construction of flower-like Ag₂WO₄/CeO₂ heterojunctions (namely ACs) by in situ deposition of Ag₂WO₄ on the surface of flower-like CeO₂ with oxygen defects. The ACs with 2.3%, 3.8%, and 5.3% Ag₂WO₄ are defined as AC-1, AC-2, and AC-3, respectively, and we compare their photocatalytic removal efficiencies. Under visible light, AC-2 exhibits the highest photocatalytic removal efficiency toward cationic dye RhB and tetracycline (TC). The K value of AC-2 toward RhB degradation is determined to be 0.059 min^-1, which is 7.56 and 8.94-fold higher than those of Ag₂WO₄ (0.0078 min^-1) and CeO₂ (0.0066 min^-1), respectively. Moreover, the K value of AC-2 toward TC degradation (0.021 min^-1) is 4.04 and 5.68-fold higher than those of Ag₂WO₄ (0.0052 min^-1) and CeO₂ (0.0037 min^-1), respectively. Our results clearly demonstrate that the introduction of Ag₂WO₄ particles stimulates the formation of surface defects of CeO₂, improves the visible light absorption, accelerates the charge carrier separation, and consequently boosts the photocatalytic degradation of dyes and drugs.